Kei Got Injured!
by KH777
Summary: What happens when Leo goes into a Jungian Tunnel all by himself even when Kei told him not too?
This is a _Mind Zero_ fan fiction. **This is in no way intended to be yaoi. I do not do yaoi; if you do then that's your thing.**

"C'mon Kei! Let's just you and I go!" Leo urged, trying to convince his friend. However his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"No Leo, it's way too dangerous. The others will be back soon. You can wait."

"C'mon…" Leo whined. Kei sometimes found it hard to believe they were both in high school when Leo acted like that.

"No."

Apparently, Leo had recently purchased the 'most amazing' new charm and he desperately wanted to check its effectiveness… in a Jungian Tunnel. It was too dangerous for only Kei and Leo to go and the others had gone off to various places.

Because of this Kei wasn't going to budge, not at all.

"You're no fun Kei… Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Where's your sense of safety? Have you already forgotten the time when you were knocked unconscious?"

"Ow! Don't remind me!"

Leo unconsciously began rubbing his head at the memory.

"We're not going and you're not going. Period."

"Fine." Leo gave in begrudgingly.

Kei only wished that he had gone with him.

…..

It was 12:00 at night. Kei was fast asleep until he persistently heard an annoying ringing noise. He ignored it at first but the noise didn't stop. Kei sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He realized that it was his phone ringing from his backpack. Kei was completely alert now as he looked at the clock. _Who could be calling me this late at night?_ It made him internally cringe. Something was wrong. _Don't tell me_ … He didn't. He better not have! Kei brought himself over to his backpack and fished out his cell phone. The fact that this person was so persistent only made him worry more. He answered the phone quickly.

"Hello?"

"This is Kei Takanashi yes?"

"Yes, that's me."

The person on the other line was a man and he sounded alarmed. Kei wished he'd taken a look at the caller ID before answering.

"Is Leo with you?"

Kei's eyes narrowed. He knew it. _That idiot!_

"No, he's not."

"He's not at home. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

 _Yes. I do._ Kei thought bitterly. But Kei couldn't exactly tell him, _oh yeah, your son is in a tunnel to another world that's filled with monsters._ That wouldn't fly. A couple of seconds passed as Kei tried to think of a reply.

"Yes, he's fine. I'll go get him." Kei hung up before they could question him further. Kei quickly changed into something decent and then quickly crept through the house. He didn't need _his_ parents suspicious of him too. As soon as he got outside, he ran in a full sprint. His irritation was bubbling to the brink right now. How could Leo be so stupid? Going with Kei is one thing but going by yourself?! Kei made a mental note to chew him out later. If he could chew him out. That brought a chill down his spine. How long has Leo been gone…? He shook his head; he had to keep a clear head.

The Jungian Tunnel was right in front of him. He went inside, hesitating slightly.

Now where was Leo? How far in would he go? Kei ventured in further.

…

"You know this is pretty hard by myself..." Leo slumped. "I'm tiiiiired. I'll go back now and no one will even know I left." Leo nodded to himself. Leo was jolted out of his thoughts by a yelp. A yelp he knew all too well.

"K-Kei?"

His mind went on full rail panic as he ran over to the source of the voice. He saw Kei, slumped over, holding his shoulder. But his MIND was gone. It must have been too damaged and retreated. Leo rushed to help his friend, fighting off the MINDs that were attacking him. He must have been ambushed. After that was over, Leo rushed over to Kei.

"A-are you okay?!" Leo worried, looking at his weakened state.

"I-I'll be… fine."

Then realization dawned on Leo. This was his fault.

"I-I'm so sorry, Kei. This is all my fault."

"Go… to Ogata's. He should be back… by now."

Leo remembered something about Ogata returning about now. Leo didn't doubt Kei either.

"Alright, I'll do that."

Leo panicked temporarily when Kei passed out and fell forward, completely limp, now leaning on Leo.

"K-Kei…?!" Leo stammered. It took him a couple of seconds before he knew he had to calm down. That's what Kei would do. That's what a hero would do. He needed to _be_ the hero and fix his mess by saving his friend. With new found determination his pulled Kei's arm on his shoulders and started his way out of the dungeon.

…

Leo was grateful now. Grateful for his tall, broad frame cause otherwise carrying Kei's dead weight all the way to Ogata's office would have been way harder; considering the fact that he was already exhausted from fighting the MINDs. A thought flickering through Leo's mind. What would he do if Ogata had not returned yet? He couldn't take him home! Not like this!

He was in front of the office. He immediately started banging on the door, hoping beyond hope that he was in there.

"It's me Leo! Open the door! It's an emergency!"

Leo banged harder and more frequently, bruising his large hand in the process.

"C'MON! OPEN THE DOOR! KEI GOT INJURED BADLY!"

The door opened and Leo almost accidently punched the middle-aged man on the other side. Luckily, he was calm and collected compared to the frantic Leo Asahina.

"Here, bring him here."

Leo followed the man inside and set him down on the appropriate place. Ogata accessed his injuries for a few seconds before retreating to fetch a medical kit. Leo watched, antagonized, as Ogata did first aid on his injury. When he was finished he turned to Leo.

"He'll be fine. His injury wasn't too serious." Ogata said but his voice soon got more firm and stern. "What were you two doing?" He soon regretted not being gentler when he saw Leo's reaction. It had just happened after all, and Leo was already frantic.

"I-I…. It's my fault! It's all my fault! Kei didn't do anything wrong! He told me it was too dangerous and I wouldn't listen! Why couldn't I listen to him!?" He said in a frenzy. "If I would have listened, he wouldn't have gotten hurt…" Leo added softly. It was true. Getting angry at Leo never ended well. It always made you feel like you were 'kicking a puppy.' They were silent for several seconds.

"So… You said you wanted to go into a Jungian Tunnel with Takanashi before we got back and he told you no. So you waited until everyone was asleep and went by yourself. He caught on, followed you, and got injured in the process."

Leo nodded, a bit surprised by his deductive skills; though that was his job as a detective after all. Ogata wanted to scold him but didn't see the need. He seemed to understand his wrong and scolding him will likely only make it worse.

"What of your parents? Do they know you're gone?"

Leo's eyes widened, apparently he hadn't thought of that. Another thought came to Ogata.

"You know, Kei probably knew because your parents called him to ask if you were there."

"That's… not good." Leo said, seeming to have calmed down mostly.

"No, that's not good at all. Especially if they contacted Takanashi's parents."

How were they going to explain _this_ to Kei's parents? Hopefully they wouldn't have too.

"Check your phone." Ogata said to Leo. Leo took out his phone and scanned his missed calls and texts.

"Crrraapppp! They totally know! Kei's parents do too. Ugh…"

That complicated things. They certainly couldn't take Kei back like this… And the longer they take the more suspicious and concerned their parents will become. Kei began to stir and all attention was drawn to him.

He groaned before opening his eyes.

"Kei!" Leo cried.

"L-Leo?" Kei asked weakly before attempting to sit up. He did so by relying on assistance from Leo. "And… Mr. Ogata?"

"I'm so so sorry, Kei. This is my fault…" Leo apologized. He really wasn't someone who you could stay angry at after he looked so sorry. Especially the way his eyes drooped like a sad puppy when he apologized. "Are you angry at me?"

"…No. Not angry. As long as you understand what you did wrong…then it's fine." Kei said. "Just don't do that again."

"Yes sir!" Leo said, mood improving a bit.

"I'm glad to see you partially recovered." Ogata said. "But we have other problems." Ogata went on to explain their situation.

"I can go back." Kei announced.

"But you're injured!" Leo exclaimed. "How are you going to make it and hide your injuries?! At the same time!? That's crazy!"

"Hmm… It doesn't seem wise but that might be our only choice." Ogata said. He studied Kei seriously. "Are you sure you can make it? That injury you received was not just a little scrape you know."

"I can do it. I'll just tell my parents that I'm tired and head straight to bed. I'm sure it'll be more tolerable when I've gotten some more rest."

"Alright. Watch over him, Asahina. Call me if you need me."

"Of course! You can count on me!" Leo said determined.

"Now that that's settled, what do can we tell them?"

The three of them mulled it over for several minutes but nothing came to mind.

"How about we just be super vague. I'll just say that Leo was being an idiot and I had to bail him out. And that we'd rather not talk about the details." Kei suggested.

"I guess that's our only choice." Ogata said. "We should go. I'll accompany you two most of the way."

The two nodded and Kei stood up with help from Leo.

"Will you really be okay…?" Leo concerned.

"I'm just conserving my energy so that I can make it when you go off to your house." Kei said. The three set off, Kei walking with his arm over Leo's shoulders.

…

This was hard. Perhaps one of the hardest things Kei has ever done, especially when his parents were so obviously suspicious. But he had to act normal, like nothing was wrong. He knew Leo probably fared no better though. But, instead of thinking about it, Kei plopped right in bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

He felt significantly better in the morning but still. Expending even the smallest of efforts seemed intolerable. His parents had cancelled school and apparently so had Leo's. The two of them were too exhausted from the events of last night and their parents knew it. Still, Kei had no desire to get out of bed. He glanced over at the clock, 12:00 P.M. How ironic. He checked his phone by the bedside for messages and shockingly there was one from Leo. It was a shock because usually Leo slept later than Kei, probably because he was worried and Kei was injured. Flipping his phone open, Kei looked at the message. It was a plain and simple message.

 _Hey K, u doing okay? I'll try to sneak out visit you soon._

Leo doesn't usually write such complete messages in text; Kei guessed it was probably because he didn't want to make Kei expend any energy trying to figure out his message. His messages would usually be: _Hey K, cn I cm ovr?_ (Hey Kei, can I come over?) Or his ever favorite: _Is Chge angy at me agn  
?!_ (Is Chikage angry at me again?!) That was why Kei usually didn't enjoy texting Leo. He's so lazy. The thought made him smile a little as he texted Leo back.

 _I'm doing better._

The reply was almost instant; Leo was making true of his commitment.

 _Good! Do you want me to come over now?_

 _Later._

 _Ok._

Kei shoved his phone in his pocket. He, with quite a bit of effort, pulled himself out of bed into a standing position. He then exited the room, not making any effort to get himself ready. After all, he slept in his clothes from the day before. When he got in the living room, he plopped right down on the couch. He wished he could lie down on the couch but he thought that would be too suspicious. His parents soon noticed that Kei was awake and studied him carefully but said nothing. Kei tried his best not to seem as exhausted as he was. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Kei took the phone out and read the message from Leo.

 _K, MY_ PARENTS _ARE TOTALLY ONTO ME, WHAT DO I DO!?_

Well, Leo certainly knew how to go overboard.

 _First, calm down._

 _I CAN'T BE CALM!_

 _Well, you need to be._

 _Fine_

 _Now, explain what happened._

 _I jus got up and they started bombarding me with questions! I tried to dodge em like you said but they're totally suspicious now!_

 _Leo, that's not strange, it's unavoidable. My parents are suspicious too._

 _Yeah, but I think they think we got attacked by a gang or something._

 _There's nothing we can do about that._

 _Really!?_

 _Yes._

 _JGHDFHUTRHUGFJGHDFSUGHSU_

Kei almost smiled despite himself. It was so like Leo to spam the keys like that and then send it on top of that. Kei shoved his phone back in his pocket.

"Kei, are you alright?" One of his parents asked.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

Of course they were suspicious still that it was more than that. But Kei tried to keep his demeanor normal.

…

"Leo! We know you're hiding something so you might as well tell us!" His father called.

"There's nothing to hide!" Leo insisted, huffing over to the couch and slouching down. He began to play some video games on his mobile gaming device, trying to appear to be ignoring him.

"Then what were you doing last night?"

"Nothing important!"

"You're a horrible liar, son. I am too."

Leo pout-scowled.

But neither of his parents made him feel safe about what happened now. They were both watching him like a hawk, waiting for him to mess up so they could catch it. Well, it wasn't going to happen! The Great Leo Asahina would not fail! Especially not when Kei… Is having a much worse time. His mood plummeted at that. Leo's job was _easy_ , _child's play_ compared to what Kei had to do.

"You're not listening!"

Leo was jolted out of his thoughts.

"What?! I'm just trying to play a video game in peace!"

His father sighed.

"There are more important things in life besides video games."

 _Yeah._ Leo thought. _Like Kei. He's more important than any number of video games._ But Leo didn't want this lecture right now.

"Ok, I'll save the lecture if you can name something or someone that's more important in five seconds that's NOT family."

"Kei."

It left Leo's lips before he realized it. His dad's eyes widened.

"Oh, well, yes. Your friends should be more important than video games."

Then Leo realized his mistake. He hadn't said it in happy, enthusiastic voice like he says everything. He said in a somber voice. _That's_ why his dad was shocked. If he had said, _Well, Kei of course!_ Or _My best bud, Kei._ Then it would have been normal. It was no secret that Leo valued his friend of three years. Leo suddenly became panicked. If his parents put two and two together…! That would be bad. Really bad! If he had messed up this whole thing because he pitied himself, he'd never forgive himself! Ughhh… Would they find his blunder? Leo tried to calm down. His panicking was going to give it away…!

But instead the opposite happened.

"Good job, Leo! You're finally maturing a little!"

Leo restrained a sigh of relief. He mistook it for _maturity._ This might hurt him later but he didn't care now. Not that he didn't believe he was though.

"Yeah, I am aren't I?" Leo smirked.

"Yes, yes!"

"I get more like a hero every day!"

"And you ruined it."

Leo pouted and went back to playing video games.

….

Kei had fallen asleep on the couch. Crap! If he slept too long, that would not be good. He didn't need anything else to further their suspicions. He realized he had fallen asleep sitting up. The time was 3:00. He slept for 2 and a half hours? Hmm, he supposed that isn't that strange. But it might not go unnoticed, he had to be more careful…

The first thing he did though was check his phone for texts. Of course, Leo had spammed him.

 _Hey Kei, want me to come over now?_

 _Heeeeeey, are you ignoring me!?_

 _Did you fall asleep?_

 _Oh, Crap, are you okay?!_

 _Oh no, did your parents find out!?_

 _Okay, I'm seriously WORRIED NOW! REPLY TO ME! Please…?_

Kei felt a bit guilty. Leo had worried about him.

 _I'm fine. I just fell asleep, sorry about that._

Of course the reply was within seconds.

 _Nah, it's okay. I worry too much… Hahah…._

 _Did something happen?_

 _Nope. Everything's fine._

Seems Leo was a bit on edge, not that Kei could blame him.

….

The rest of the day passed mostly uneventfully. Kei felt a lot better now that he'd rested all day. Leo never did visit, Kei said it would be too suspicious. Now it was the end of the day and Kei was in bed but he had to tell Leo one more thing. It's not like they had school tomorrow, it was the weekend.

 _Leo, delete all our texts from today._

 _Why?! You don't think they'll search our texts do you?!_

 _Maybe. Just delete them all, including these ones._

 _Ok, you feeling better K?_

 _Yeah. And hopefully I'll get more time to rest too._

Kei's parents informed Leo's parents about how they knew that Kei was probably the mastermind. He was smart and probably ordering Leo what to do. Even so, they never did figure out what happened that night…

 _Fin_


End file.
